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Sushiko's Kinjite cocktail
Sushiko's Kinjite cocktail
Sushiko

Satisfy a Need for Heat with These Spicy Cocktails

These 15 drinks will help heat up a chilly fall.

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Sushiko's Kinjite cocktail
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Chili-heads will try and find their fix any way they can, whether it's finding the hottest curry, the most incendiary wings, or dousing all their food with sriracha or Tabasco. Now, heat-seekers can look to a number of cocktails to help satisfy their craving.

They say "where there's smoke, there's fire." And that's certainly the case for many spicy cocktails, which often feature smoky mezcal, though its more genteel cousin, tequila, is also very popular. The strong, earthy spirits are intense enough to match even the highest Scoville-unit peppers.

Another common factor among many spicy cocktails is the use of tropical fruits like passionfruit, pineapple, mango, and lime to tame the fire of peppers and complement some of their naturally fruity characteristics.

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701 Restaurant

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Asian Bloody Mary
Chris McNeal's Asian Bloody Mary combines three sources of heat -- wasabi, sriracha and horseradish vodka -- with lemongrass, soy, tomato and black pepper.

Black Jack

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Paloma Picante
Black Jack offers a spicier take of the classic La Paloma with Tanteo jalapeño tequila, house made grapefruit soda, and lime.

BLT Steak

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Davey Crockett
This spicy mezcal cocktail has a hint of fall with apple-infused Stoli, cilantro, and jalapeño.

Bourbon Steak Washington DC

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Skaal
This kicky nod to the Swedes combines aquavit, fresh lime, celery and habañero.

Founding Farmers

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The Bone
Founding Farmers serves several spicy cocktails, but the one to go for is The Bone with Knob Creek bourbon, lime juice, and Tabasco, garnished with a candied bacon lolly.

Iron Gate

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Smoke Gets in Your Rye
This cocktail, part of Tom Sietsema's fantasy meal, combines the smokiness of mezcal with Old Overholt rye, herbaceous cocchi vermouth, averna, and a hint of heat from habanero bitters.

Nage Bistro

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Fahrenheit 451
This Asian-influenced cocktail featured jalapeño vodka with muddled cucumber, ginger, orange juice and lemongrass simple syrup.

The Partisan

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Holiday in the Sun
Tepache is a relatively new spirit to the scene, but has long been on the scene in Mexican taquerias. It's made of pineapple rinds fermented with cloves, cinnamon, allspice and piloncillo. Bar manager Jeff Faile mixes it with mezcal, Domaine de Canton, lime, and habanero shrub.

Ping Pong Dim Sum

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Tennessee Electric Tea
This mouth numbing cocktail features Jack Daniels, orange liqueur, lemon juice and Coke served with a Sichuan bud. Though the buds have no relation to Sichuan peppercorns, the effects are the same.

Rasika West End

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Kamini
Rasika West End offers a spicy take on the classic Pimm's cup. It features chili-infused gin and a ginger syrup to the traditional lime juice.

Republic

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Sex in Public
This cocktail with a risque name features Peachy Mama peppers, an heirloom variety grown at local Even' Star farms. Similar in flavor to habaneros without the same intense heat, it's used in a shrub combined with gin, honey, and basil.

Sushiko

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Kinjite
The Kinjite (prohibited in Japanese) is fruity and spicy with vodka, passionfruit, peach puree, pineapple, peach schnapps, Tabasco, and jalapeños.

Toki Underground

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¡Godzilla!
This cocktail features ma la numbing heat from a Szechuan peppercorn sage syrup set in the middle of an ice flower that gradually adds more heat to the reposado tequila ocho as the ice melts.

Dragon Tit
The Dragon Tit is the hottest of several spicy cocktails at Wisdom. It throws habañero-infused tequila with pomegranate juice and Chambord.

701 Restaurant

Asian Bloody Mary
Chris McNeal's Asian Bloody Mary combines three sources of heat -- wasabi, sriracha and horseradish vodka -- with lemongrass, soy, tomato and black pepper.

Black Jack

Paloma Picante
Black Jack offers a spicier take of the classic La Paloma with Tanteo jalapeño tequila, house made grapefruit soda, and lime.

BLT Steak

Davey Crockett
This spicy mezcal cocktail has a hint of fall with apple-infused Stoli, cilantro, and jalapeño.

Bourbon Steak Washington DC

Skaal
This kicky nod to the Swedes combines aquavit, fresh lime, celery and habañero.

Founding Farmers

The Bone
Founding Farmers serves several spicy cocktails, but the one to go for is The Bone with Knob Creek bourbon, lime juice, and Tabasco, garnished with a candied bacon lolly.

Iron Gate

Smoke Gets in Your Rye
This cocktail, part of Tom Sietsema's fantasy meal, combines the smokiness of mezcal with Old Overholt rye, herbaceous cocchi vermouth, averna, and a hint of heat from habanero bitters.

Nage Bistro

Fahrenheit 451
This Asian-influenced cocktail featured jalapeño vodka with muddled cucumber, ginger, orange juice and lemongrass simple syrup.

The Partisan

Holiday in the Sun
Tepache is a relatively new spirit to the scene, but has long been on the scene in Mexican taquerias. It's made of pineapple rinds fermented with cloves, cinnamon, allspice and piloncillo. Bar manager Jeff Faile mixes it with mezcal, Domaine de Canton, lime, and habanero shrub.

Ping Pong Dim Sum

Tennessee Electric Tea
This mouth numbing cocktail features Jack Daniels, orange liqueur, lemon juice and Coke served with a Sichuan bud. Though the buds have no relation to Sichuan peppercorns, the effects are the same.

Rasika West End

Kamini
Rasika West End offers a spicy take on the classic Pimm's cup. It features chili-infused gin and a ginger syrup to the traditional lime juice.

Republic

Sex in Public
This cocktail with a risque name features Peachy Mama peppers, an heirloom variety grown at local Even' Star farms. Similar in flavor to habaneros without the same intense heat, it's used in a shrub combined with gin, honey, and basil.

Sushiko

Kinjite
The Kinjite (prohibited in Japanese) is fruity and spicy with vodka, passionfruit, peach puree, pineapple, peach schnapps, Tabasco, and jalapeños.

Toki Underground

¡Godzilla!
This cocktail features ma la numbing heat from a Szechuan peppercorn sage syrup set in the middle of an ice flower that gradually adds more heat to the reposado tequila ocho as the ice melts.

Wisdom

Dragon Tit
The Dragon Tit is the hottest of several spicy cocktails at Wisdom. It throws habañero-infused tequila with pomegranate juice and Chambord.

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